A Pattern of Abuse and Denial

Brent T.

We now begin to scratch the surface of one of the main issues plaguing the Assembly. The Bible says, "...Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" What this means, in context with the rest of scripture, is that if we allow sin, whether in secret or public, to go unchecked and without confrontation, it will inevitably result in decline and damage to the church. This is not a mere possibility, or even a frequent side-effect, it is a spiritual principle, even more sure than the law of gravity. If the leaders of a church KNOW that there is sin in the camp, but choose to ignore it, a spiritual malaise will set in.

However, if the leaders actively ignore sin by engaging in cover-ups, character assassination of those who would seek to expose the sin, or by the age-old practice of denial, a spiritual cancer takes hold of everything in the leaders sphere. This could mean a home, a church, or an entire ministry. It just depends on what level the sins occurs, and from what level of leadership the active denial emanates.

This brings us to the matter of the family of George Geftakys' eldest son, David. This matter is by no means the only example of abuse and the active denial thereof in The Assembly. However, it is the issue that seems to be getting the most attention at present. Over the next few weeks, more material regarding this will become available. The purpose in doing this is not to air dirty laundry, or to tarnish a man's reputation. On the contrary, all of these men's reputations have been tarnished for some time. No, the purpose for publicly stating what has taken place is solely for the sake of the current and ex-members of the Assembly, who may have no idea why they are suffering. Publishing this material will accomplish several things:

• It will demonstrate what sort of people are leading the Assembly. (Draw your own conclusions.)

• It will explain why the ministry has had such stunted growth, remaining quite tiny and ineffective in spite of the tremendous commitment shown by its members. (The Holy Spirit is grieved.)

• It will show why Assembly leadership must always expend great energy to slander and assassinate the character of any ex-member who might speak up. (Almost all testify of abuse.)

Please let the reader take note of several very important facts:

• What you are about to view, if you follow the link below, is part of the public record in the State of California. Anyone can obtain this information, without charge and for any reason from the county courthouse in San Luis Obispo, California. There are other records as well, which may find their way onto this website.

• Although permission from the petitioner was not required in order to publish this, explicit permission was given to this website, by the petitioner, to post this material. In other words, this person knows what we are doing, and is in total agreement.

The following conclusions will be drawn by anyone who reads this material, along with that which is to come in the near future:

• George, Betty, and many other full time Workers and Leading Brothers knew for years what sort of person they were protecting and promoting in the ministry.

• People who spoke up about this abuse, including David's wife Judy, were treated in a shameful way. All were slandered, many have been wrongly excommunicated.

• Out and out lying is the modus operandi in the Assembly, especially when it involves potentially negative information. Truth and justice are at best secondary considerations.

When reading the following, look at the dates, look at the names, remember that other leadership was present when things were signed, note who the defendant's attorney was, and most importantly, note that the defendant and his brother were the two main speakers at the North Coast Conference, the day the order was served and for four years thereafter!

Ask yourself, "What kind of person allows this sort of man to lead and lecture on Jesus Christ, with a specialty in family and marriage? If many leaders knew of this, why was David still in good standing, teaching, preaching, counseling, leading, and representing the ministry as a full time Worker until his wife left him? Why was this sort of man given sole control over the Lord's Treasury, until approximately a year before his wife's departure?"

Even more to the point, why have we all been told that there is no "evidence" that any wrongdoing ever took place, when all along the leaders knew that this document was part of the public record. Has David ever been brought to account?

Repentance needs to occur. People who have been hurt must be approached with apologies. Leaders, all the way to the top, must be held accountable, and above all we must remember the following:

Ps. 24: 3-4 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

Lev. 10:3 And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke, saying: `By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy ; And before all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace.

Many times cancer progresses to a terminal state with little outward symptoms, except tiredness, fatigue, or perhaps mild flu symptoms. "Everyone feels like this, I think," the sick man tells himself. When the diagnosis is finally made, it is too late, and the person is given only months to live. In the same manner, the Assembly has been hollowed out by disease and corruption. The outward form is still present, but it is showing many signs of advanced ill health. Is it too late? Undoubtedly, with an earthly physician, this patient is terminal. However, with our Great Physician, perhaps there is still hope for this patient. If this is to be the case, Assembly leaders must remember that Jesus came to heal the sick. The Pharisees had no need of a physician, they never admitted any problems. The first step to healing is to admit we are sick.

Here is the Court Restraining Order obtained by Rachel Geftakys against her father, David Geftakys. (It is a big file, 2.8megs., Adobe Acrobat required.) For those who have slow connections, here and here are the jpeg files of the petition to obtain the restraining order. We recommend the full download, but these two pages are useful.

The restraining order is but a small part of the bigger picture. A Part of My Story , by Rachel (Geftakys) Stapleton reveals the cancer that has long been hidden as it has been growing insidiously in the Assembly.